More than 60 guests from politics and industry witnessed Brose China's groundbreaking ceremony for a new production plant in Chongqing. The new plant is an important step in the group's expansion activities in Asia: from 2012, the plant will supply customers in central as well as western China. Brose will then have seven production facilities in five of China's six major automotive hubs (Shanghai, Changchun, Wuhan, Beijing and Chongqing).Some 250 employees will be engaged in the production of seat, door and closure systems as well as cooling fan modules from 2012. In the long term, the automotive supplier plans to localize the entire product portfolio in Chongqing.

He Yong, Vice Director of SHA Pingba District, Chongqing, praised the German automotive supplier's commitment saying at the ceremony: "We are proud to welcome such a competitive supplier for mechatronic systems like Brose with a production facility here in Chongqing. We look forward to following the further development of this family-owned company in our region and hope that its success will continue."

Ray Mirzaei, Chief Operation Officer Brose Asia, emphasized the importance of the location in his speech: "We are building another major production facility in Asia that will further strengthen our market position in western China. We offer our customers reliable development and production of high-tech products at international quality standards. To achieve this, we are going to swiftly build up expertise in Chongqing and prove what the Brose brand stands for worldwide.

Brose in China

The automotive supplier first became active on the Chinese market in 1995 and has been consistently intensifying its activities in this growth market ever since. Today Brose is represented in four of China’s most important automotive regions with six sites and has localized its product portfolio and development competence to a great extent. The company employs around 2,700 people in China and generated sales of around 480 million euros in China in 2010.

Brose in Asia

In addition to China, Brose is also expanding its capacity in other parts of Asia. At the end of January 2011 it set up a joint venture with Korean supplier Mando – a steering systems specialist. In total, Brose has 13 sites in Asia: in China, Japan, Korea, India and Thailand. They account for around 20% of the group’s sales. The group currently employs around 3,000 people in the region, a figure that is set to rise to nearly 4,500 by 2013.